Five lessons learned as Dominic Calvert-Lewin endures a Leeds United debut to forget in League Cup upset — Leeds United News 26/8/25
Robert McHugh
Dominic Calvert-Lewin endured a Leeds United debut to forget
as he missed a golden chance to win the tie against Sheffield Wednesday, before
missing his spot kick in a shootout defeat.
Leeds looked like they could go out in normal time, when an
inexplicable error from Karl Darlow handed the home side the lead just after an
hour.
Daniel Farke turned to the big guns on his bench and got a
near instantaneous response, as Jayden Bogle fired home, giving the Whites a
lifeline.
However, Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed a succession of
chances on debut to win the tie for Leeds before he capped a brutal night by
blazing his penalty over the bar.
Calvert-Lewin was not alone, as Joel Piroe and Sean
Longstaff saw their penalties saved to end a miserable night for Farke’s side.
As the Leeds boss faces the daunting prospect of lifting his
side for their upcoming game against Newcastle, here are five lessons learned
from a demoralising cup defeat.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin endures difficult Leeds debut
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been made to wait for his Leeds
debut after sitting out the opening two games of the Premier League season.
He finally made his first appearance for his new club
shortly before the hour mark, but struggled to make an impact as Leeds fell to
a cup exit.
Calvert-Lewin’s seventh touch as a Leeds player should have
been a decisive one, as he found himself presented with a golden opportunity to
score, unmarked just yards out.
However, he somehow put the chance wide, with the game
ending in a stalemate. It would be unfair to judge Calvert-Lewin on this chance
alone, but he missed his chance to become an instant hero.
The Leeds number nine then somehow failed to score from
another two good positions, as Ethan Horvath saved well, before a dangerous
ball was cut out just before it reached him.
A charitable assessment of his performance is that it is
encouraging that he put himself in a position to score. However, Calvert-Lewin
will be frustrated that he could not kill the tie when he had the chance.
Daniel Farke will be hoping that he never sees a pair of
goalkeeping gloves again after Karl Darlow added to his woes with a costly
mistake.
After Leeds’ promotion season was nearly derailed by a
string of mistakes by Illan Meslier, new signing Lucas Perri was shaky against
Arsenal.
Darlow added his contribution to the Hall of Fame of Leeds
goalkeeping errors as he allowed a shot from Jamal Lowe to spin out of his
grasp and trickle through his legs and over the line.
Leeds’ number two goalkeeper was then unable to keep out any
of Wednesday’s penalties as Leeds’ issues between the sticks showed no signs of
easing.
New signing Noah Okafor made his first start for Leeds after
a cameo in the defeat by Arsenal, and big things were expected of the former AC
Milan player.
While Okafor was busy in the first half for Leeds, his
impact was limited as a disjointed Whites side struggled to break down the
Owls.
Okafor started the second half brightly, with his early
dribble winning a free-kick within shooting range, but Leeds wasted the
subsequent chance.
There is undoubtedly more to come from one of Leeds’ marquee
summer signings. However, Farke will have hoped to see more cutting-edge
against their struggling opposition.
Jack Harrison was given a hostile welcome by the Leeds
faithful on several occasions during pre-season, as he returned to the club
after spending two seasons on loan with Everton.
Harrison has some work to do to earn back the trust of the
Elland Road crowd, but he took the first step towards doing so in a bright
performance at Hillsborough.
Starting in an unfamiliar role at left-back, Harrison
produced an energetic display, constantly pushing forward to support the Leeds
attack before tracking back relentlessly.
Harrison even received some warm applause when he took a
second-half corner, a change from the boos that greeted him in pre-season.
The former Bielsa stalwart still has his flaws, as evidenced
by his four accurate crosses from 18 attempts, according to FotMob. But Leeds
fans love a hard worker, and Harrison took the first step on his road to
redemption with a typically diligent performance.
Quality from the bench cannot spare Daniel Farke’s blushes
The game appeared to be drifting away from Leeds after
Darlow’s error, which forced Farke to turn to the big-hitters on the bench to
save the day.
Although Calvert-Lewin struggled to get up to speed, Willy
Gnonto made an instant difference, adding pace and a newfound direct approach
to Leeds’ ponderous attack.
Gnonto eventually made the difference, providing the assist
to Jayden Bogle, who rifled home after also being introduced in the second
half.
